Phillip Arthur Ranelin was born in Indianapolis, Indiana where he grew up under
the influence of J.J. Johnson, Wes Montgomery, Earmon Hubbard, Pookie Johnson,
Russell Webster, Willis Kirk, Jimmy Coe and Melvin Rhyne. Ranelin is loved and
respected around the globe as a master trombonist of the J.J. Johnson tradition,
former Freddie Hubbard sideman and as co-founder of Detroit’s famed TRIBE
Records. Ranelin has studied and played with some of the most highly respected
Jazz and classical educators in the business, including professors David N.
Baker, Larry Ridley, Nathan Davis, Bunky Green, Dr. Louis Smith and Donald Byrd
with whom in 1976 he received the key to the city of Detroit. Ranelin’s Jazz
performance credits include: Norman Connors, Ella Fitzgerald, Art Pepper, Teddy
Edwards, Gerald Wilson, Vi Redd, Freddie Redd, Marcus Belgrave, Wendell
Harrison, Harold McKinney, Ray Appleton, Roy Brooks, Sarah Vaughan, Larry Gales,
Tootie Heath, James Spaulding, the all-star Luckman Jazz Orchestra at the Disney
Concert Hall, and Freddie Hubbard with whom in 1981 he appeared on MISTRAL,
Japan’s #1 Jazz record of the year.

As a leader, Ranelin has shared the bill
with Stanley Clarke, Christian McBride, Les McCann, Sonny Rollins, Pharoah
Sanders, Wayne Shorter, Jimmy Smith, O.C. Smith, Leon Thomas and McCoy Tyner.
Ranelin has appeared at many Jazz festivals around the world including the
Montreux Jazz Festival, Kool Jazz, Indiana Black Expo, Vera Cruz Muestra
International Jazz Festival, Monterey Jazz Festival, Atlantic City Jazz
Festival, Montreux Detroit, the Newport and Playboy Jazz Festivals, Jazz At
Drew, USC Spectrum LA Jazz, UCLA Jazz & Reggae Festival, The Indy Jazz Fest and
the Inaugural Indianapolis Jazz Community Festival. A Los Angeles resident
since 1977, Ranelin has been designated by official resolutions as a “Rare and
Valuable Cultural Treasure” and as a “Cultural Ambassador throughout the Nation
and to the world audience” by several legislative bodies such as Los Angeles
City Council, Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, California Senate and
California Assembly.

Ranelin’s 2001 Juneteenth performance in Pacoima was
officially honored by United States Senator Barbara Boxer and on November 30,
2001, performing at Watts Labor Community Action Committee’s Phoenix Hall in
tribute to the culmination of John Coltrane’s 75th birthday year,
Ranelin was also honored by the United States Congress via California
Congresswomen Juanita Millender-McDonald and Maxine Waters with certificates of
appreciation for community service and excellence as an artist. Under the
banner of The Phil Ranelin Jazz Ensemble, Ranelin has amassed some of the most
dynamic musicians in the Los Angeles area: George Harper on saxophone and
flute; Nate Morgan, Danny Grissett, William S. Henderson, Donald Vega, Joel
Scott, Jane Getz, Llew Matthews, Greg Kirsten and Jeff Babko on keyboards; Ryan
Cross, Wendell Williams, John Heard, Henry Franklin, Tony Dumas, James Leary,
Nedra Wheeler and Jeff Littleton on bass; Lorca Hart, Don Littleton, Roy
McCurdy, Ralph Penland, Carl Burnett, Fritz Wise and Raymond Pounds on trap
drums; and Taumbu on congas and percussions. Under the banner of Phil Ranelin &
Tribe Renaissance he expanded his group to showcase a 9-piece trombone-led
all-star woodwind group (his Los Angeles
based configuration patterned after his 1970s Tribe recordings) which has
included such greats as George Harper, Ralph “Buzzy” Jones, Michael Session,
Keith Fiddmont, Carl Randall, Louis Taylor and Zane Musa – all playing Ranelin
compositions and arrangements reminiscent of his Tribe hey-days in Detroit.

Ranelin’s discography is extensive. Clint Eastwood produced MONTEREY JAZZ: 40
LEGENDARY YEARS (Warner Brothers 1997) which included Freddie Hubbard’s 1980
performance featuring Ranelin on trombone. Another compilation featuring Joe
Henderson, Eddie Harris, Eddie Henderson, Woody Shaw, Johnny Coles and Tom
Harrell also features one of Ranelin’s original compositions, “Ya' Know What I
Mean,” the final cut from A CLOSE ENCOUNTER OF THE VERY BEST KIND. Ranelin is
also proud of his community involvement track-record in Los Angeles. He was
part of the Horace Tapscott Sextet, The Pan Afrikan Peoples’ Arkestra, the
Michael Session Sextet and The Taumbu International Ensemble.

Ranelin is
currently focusing on securing concert and festival bookings for his nine-piece
Phil Ranelin & Tribe Renaissance band in order to promote the Hefty Records June
2001 reissues of VIBES FROM THE TRIBE and THE TIME IS NOW which was voted 4th
in Jazz Times’ top ten Best Reissues (two CDs or more) for the year 2001! In
2002 Ranelin was nominated as The People’s Choice Best Jazz Artist of the Year
in the LA Weekly Music Awards and A CLOSE ENCOUNTER OF THE VERY BEST KIND ranked
#10 in the Billboard CD reviews in 2003. July 2004 marks the much anticipated
release of his latest recording, INSPIRATION, which features Ranelin originals
composed in homage to J.J. Johnson, John Coltrane, Eric Dolphy and Horace
Tapscott and which is dedicated to his recent fallen Detroit and Naptown
mentors, Harold McKinney and Jimmy Coe. Please continue to visit: